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Cardoon

Cynara cardunculus

Cardoon is a magnificent perennial native to southern Europe, with spiny, gray-green foliage and purple, thistle-like flowers that grow to five feet. The French first grew it as a vegetable, and Quakers brought it to America in the 1790s. Although related to Globe Artichokes - which Jefferson grew throughout his life - the edible partpart of Cardoon is its thick leaf stalk, which can be blanched with mounded soil.

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